Should I worry about hawks?

[Mark Park]

The hawks and owls and eagles and coyotes and foxes and raccoons and bears and etc.

If they manage to take one or two once in a while it's okay.

 

[centrarchid]

The hawks and owls and eagles and coyotes and foxes and raccoons and bears and etc.

If they manage to take one or two once in a while it's okay.

Are you talking from experience loosing birds you invested a lot of time and money in raising?

 

[Mark Park]

I have lost my share of birds. Have you been losing birds or you are worried that perhaps ypu might lose some? If you aren't losing any, or are.losing one or two every now and again, don't worry about it.

 

[Franklinridgefarms]

A sort of hawk tax or fox tax. They can have one or two once in a while.

Some breeds of chicken are more clever at staying under tree cover (if available) and roosting up in the trees. A combination of breed selection and the environment you keep your birds in might be enough to keep losses minimal -- otherwise you will have to protect them.

We have always had to protect them to the extreme. By the time you loose 1 or 2 each to raccoon, coyote, fox, mink, weasel, hawks, owls, and if talking about ducks add turtles to the list, you soon won’t have any poultry left. Been there, that’s why we don’t have ducks on the ponds now, and why we keep our chickens confined to a coop and covered run. It’s a judgement call that everybody has to make with no real right or wrong unless the losses are continually perpetuated then it may be not good. I personally would rather protect my livestock and pets and feel a responsibility to do so, on the other hand some feel that letting them have more freedom is better for their animals and that’s ok too as long as they are prepared to take action when significant issues arise.

 

[centrarchid]

I have lost my share of birds. Have you been losing birds or you are worried that perhaps ypu might lose some? If you aren't losing any, or are.losing one or two every now and again, don't worry about it.

I loose birds every year, mostly to Great-horned Owl. None to Red-tailed Hawk over last several years because of vegetation management and dogs. Coopers have taken young chickens, mostly later in the year. Currently Red Fox is biggest problem that has taken two birds. I have been watching the fox very closely for last several nights and may trap him it I cannot keep him out of orchard once juvenile chickens put out there.

I cull many more birds and loose a few to coccidia. Once in a while one is lost to drowning in trough used to culture duckweed.

 

[centrarchid]

Snapping turtles are easy to harvest. We used to eat them, but too much trouble now.

 

[cmom]

The proof is in the pudding.

Is your flock being preyed upon? If not, or if the losses are minimal, you shouldn't worry about it. If the occassional bird is lost to a predator, think of it as a tax.

If you are having constant losses then some engineering fixes can be applied. You will have to fence your flock in with a 6 ft or taller fence, and stretch wire across to discourage birds if pret from swooping in on them.

First,

 

[cmom]

Should I be worried that hawks will attack my full grown ducks and geese? I’m just curious because I would think that my ducks and geese are too big to be attacked. I have Pekin, Rouens, Embden, and Toulouse.

Most people who own birds are going to loose some at one time or another to a predator. All of the additions to my coops and pens to secure them were because of predators killing some birds. I covered all of my pens with some good heavy duty netting. Tensile Strength: 85/245 LBS per 2" Mesh. I ran short so I ordered some online but when I got it, it wasn't what I thought it was but decided to use it anyway. I thought probably a bird of prey would see the netting and not bother. First I had an owl go through the crappy netting and kill a bird. I put another piece of netting up. A couple of nights later the netting was torn and another bird was dead so I moved the birds to another coop and put a camera up in that pen and another piece of netting. I got an owl going through the netting. I had ordered more netting but this time made sure of what I was ordering. Meanwhile I had to go off one morning and when I got back the birds were making an unusual ruckus. I went out to investigate and the first thing I saw were several bodies inside the pen. As I looked I saw a huge Red Tail hawk in the pen. It must have been excited with all of the quandary going on. I got the hawk out and retrieved the bodies. I received the netting I ordered and immediately put it up where I needed to replace the crappy netting. The owl came back and discovered the coop I have moved the birds to and decided to try to go through the netting but instead go caught in it. We managed to get it into a cage and called some wildlife people and they came and got it. They said they would release it in an area and it shouldn't be back. So far it hasn't. I have several game cameras up.

 

[cmom]

Here are a few pullets that the hawk killed.

 

[cmom]

The owl going through the netting.